Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 27, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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EU ministers agree on a roadmap to ease Syria sanctions, focusing on sectors like energy and transport, with a reversible approach to support recovery.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers have agreed on a roadmap to ease sanctions on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.
"While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken," Kallas said.
The EU has a range of sanctions in place targeting both individuals and economic sectors in Syria, including a ban on Syrian oil exports and restrictions on access to global financial channels.
But European capitals began reassessing their approach to Damascus after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as president in December by insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
EU governments want to help kickstart Syria’s recovery. But many capitals have also stressed that the EU should take a gradual and reversible approach to retain leverage as it encourages the new authorities in Damascus to respect fundamental rights and implement inclusive policies.
Ahead of Monday’s meeting, diplomats from the bloc’s 27 countries recommended taking swift action towards suspending restrictions in sectors such as energy and transport.
Officials will now proceed to work on the technical details of easing sanctions, before a suspension can be legally adopted.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray; Editing by Makini Brice and Sharon Singleton)
The EU foreign ministers agreed on a roadmap to ease sanctions on Syria.
The EU has sanctions targeting individuals and economic sectors, including a ban on Syrian oil exports and restrictions on access to global financial channels.
European capitals began reassessing their approach after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as president in December by insurgent forces.
Diplomats recommended suspending restrictions in sectors such as energy and transport.
EU officials aim to move quickly but emphasize that the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken.
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